Facile, general allylation of unactivated alkyl halides via electrochemically enabled radical-polar crossover

Abstract

Electrochemically driven carbon–carbon formation is receiving considerable interest in organic synthesis. In this study, we present an electrochemically driven method for the formation of C(sp³)–C(sp³) bonds using readily available allylic carbonates, as well as primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl bromides as electrophiles. This approach offers a highly selective route for synthesizing a broad range of allylic products with excellent functional group tolerance, all without the need for transition metal catalysts. Remarkably, this method also enables the smooth late-stage functionalization of various natural product- and drug-derived substrates, yielding the corresponding complex allylalkanes.